Andrew Turner, the Island’s MP, has raised the cost of guarding prisoners whilst they receive healthcare outside the prison at Prime Minister’s Question time this week. Responsibility and the budget for paying for escorts (for out-patient prisoners) and bed-watchers (for in-patient prisoners) transferred to the NHS from the prison service last April. Figures from the Island’s PCT show that by the end of this financial year there will be a shortfall of over £1m over the two years. The Prime Minister suggested that Mr Turner was simply asking for more resources but then said that “where issues arise from the treatment of prisoners, we will deal with them”.

Mr Turner said
“I am very concerned about this shortfall. To put the £1m into context it could pay for an extra 15 nurses over the two years and the whole budget for St Mary’s hospital is £125m per year. This is not an unforeseen problem – I organised a delegation from the Island’s health service to raise these issues with the then prison minister Ivan Lewis MP back in April last year. He promised to keep this under review – that seems not to have happened.

“I am pleased that the Prime Minister has indicated that he will ‘deal with’ this issue but I will be chasing him up on this. It is simply not fair that the health service for my law-abiding constituents should suffer because the Home Office massively under-estimated the cost of guarding prisoners. It is not a question of extra resources – we all know that these are difficult times – but the Government should make sure that Islanders do not suffer simply because we have a high prison population here.”

HANSARD EXTRACT – 4TH NOVEMBER 2009
Q4. [297506] Mr. Andrew Turner (Isle of Wight) (Con): Island prisoners must be guarded when they need health care outside prison. By the end of this year, the local health budget will have been exceeded by more than £1 million. That could pay for an extra 15 nurses. Will the Prime Minister ensure that this inequity is corrected urgently?
The Prime Minister: I understand the hon. Gentleman asking for more resources for the health service in his area, but we are spending more on the national health service than ever before. Where issues arise from the treatment of prisoners, we will deal with them.

END Contact : Andrew Turner’s office 01983 530808